Cryptozoology: Does It Matter If Bigfoot Is Real?

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The study of extremely rare or mythical creatures like Bigfoot,
called cryptozoology, is generally considered a fringe science,
lacking the type of robust analysis required to appear in
peer-reviewed scientific journals.

But for Loren Coleman, owner of the world's only international
cryptozoology museum in Portland, Maine, such accusations are
beside the point. The fun is in the unknown.

"The mystery is what is fun about it," McCann told LiveScience.
"There will always be mysteries out there. Whether or not
Bigfoot
is real doesn't matter terribly."

Truth in the terrors?

Cryptozoology has existed in certain forms for centuries, with
roots in native folklore and mythology. The Yeti,
for example, appeared in native Nepalese legends dating back to
the fourth century B.C., and only later attained the popularized
name Abominable
Snowman from British climbers who found suspicious footprints
on Mount Everest in the 1920s.

This rich history comes to life during McCann's 30-minute tours
through the two main rooms of the museum, which contain a total
of about 10,000 pieces of paraphernalia ranging from purported
Bigfoot footprint casts, to jackalope taxidermy, to a
black-and-white photo of two men standing above what appears to
be some sort of unidentifiable sea monster, sent to the museum
anonymously without a note.

Along the tour, McCann offers pieces of evidence for and against
the existence of the various creatures on display — collectively
known as cryptids, or animals whose existence is unsubstantiated
— providing anecdotes passed down from cryptozoologists regarding
the quality of evidence and the credibility of those claiming to
have made the sighting. She then encourages visitors to come to
their own conclusions for each case.

For example, McCann personally believes that the sophistication
of Bigfoot's movements in the famous 1967 Patterson Bigfoot film
— the widely distributed grainy footage of a large beast tromping
through Bluff Creek, Calif., taken by a man named Roger Patterson
— surpasses the capabilities of technology of 1960s film.
Costumes from the earliest episodes of "Star Trek," which
premiered around the same time, do not compare in intricacy,
McCann said. For this reason, she remains cautiously optimistic
that the video could be real.

Tools of the Trade

Coleman, who studied anthropology and zoology in college and
earned a master's degree in social work before committing
full-time to cryptozoology, also remains cautiously optimistic
about the existence of cryptids. But he emphasizes the
cautiousness of his optimism, particularly when assessing a new
specimen presented to him by novice cryptozoologists.

"The first thing that I always examine is the person that brings
me the evidence," Coleman told LiveScience during a recent visit
to the museum. "Do they have credibility, and why are they doing
this? Are they trying to prove something, trying to make money,
or trying for fame? Or have they really just had an extraordinary
encounter, and are just trying to find some psychological safety
in finding someone who will talk to them about it?"

After this initial assessment, Coleman examines the physical
evidence available, which may include items such as pieces of
hair, feces, footprints, photographs or simply personal
anecdotes. Physical evidence is usually more abundant for
land-based creatures like Bigfoot than for the more elusive
underwater Loch
Ness monster, Coleman said. [ Rumor
or Reality: The Creatures of Cryptozoology ]

"A lot of people say 'Do you believe in the Loch Ness monster?'
and I always have to say I don't believe in any of this," Coleman
said. "Because belief is about religion, it's about faith. I
accept or deny the evidence."

Hoaxes vs. honest mistakes

Coleman says 85 percent to 90 percent of the cases he is
presented with are clear hoaxes. Purported
Bigfoot tracks are often too uniform to be real, or the toes
are too square, or the print itself does not have the texture of
a true animal print.

Still, the remaining 10 to 15 percent either remain open cases
under investigation, or have been honest misidentifications that
have since been proven wrong, such as a purported demon found in
rural Maine that DNA analyses later proved was actually the dead
body of a domesticated dog.

While cryptozoologists generally enjoy the mystery of the
unknown, McCann says that substantiating the existence of any
cryptid would be even more tantalizing for her.

"I think it would just open up a whole new avenue for learning
about their behaviors, diets and evolutionary history," McCann
said. "I think that learning that they exist is just the tip of
the iceberg."

Coleman hopes to expand his museum in the next several years to a
larger space so that he can display his 400 boxes' worth of
additional materials that he keeps in storage, including 40,000
books on cryptozoology that he would eventually like to turn into
a library within the museum.